Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 127
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- Chapter 127 - Dragon King Festival (Part 1)
Chapter 127: Dragon King Festival (Part 1)
Was it exactly two years ago when my entire family visited the festival?
At that time, I was struggling with a VR booth game, so I decided to take a break and followed my father. During that moment, he taught me something important.
He said that the original purpose of Japanese festivals is to express gratitude to the gods.
Thus, the origin of the word “festival” also comes from the concept of “worship.”
It’s about comforting the gods and making prayers.
This practice is rooted in indigenous deities, Shinto, or Buddhism.
In understanding the Japanese people’s feelings toward festivals, the most important concept is “Hare” and “Ke.” [1]
“Hare” refers to the “extraordinary” or “special occasions.”
“Ke” refers to the “ordinary” or “everyday life.”
Festivals fall under “Hare,” and by celebrating them in a grand way, they serve to “reset” the ordinary life, or “Ke.”
My father explained that we Japanese look forward to these extraordinary occasions, drawing vitality for our daily lives from them.
Back then, while researching with my smartphone in hand, he shared this with me.
…Dad.
Looking back now, it feels unfortunate and somewhat ruined.
At that time, I think I was just giving half-hearted responses to my father’s stories while entertaining the ridiculous thought that if I couldn’t win outright, I could just take them down physically.
Of course, if other NPCs spotted me, I’d incur penalties and end up in last place, so I’d have to go for an assassination.
“Sora, you’re slowing down.”
“Oh, sorry, I was lost in thought.”
At Kuro’s remark, I hurriedly focused on the ball in my hands.
As I heated the oil poured into the frying pan, my sister Shio and my partner Kuro were beside me.
Both of them were cracking eggs just like I was, tirelessly mixing the beaten eggs.
It would have been nice to prepare this yesterday, but unlike meat, eggs tend to spoil quickly, even when stored in a box, so we had to prepare them at this time.
“But cracking eggs and mixing them isn’t easy, you know.”
“Stop whining! At least the eggshells disappear on their own when you crack them. That’s a huge help!”
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
After receiving Shio’s reprimand, I continued the task quietly, despite my complaints.
If we didn’t make a lot of stock at this stage, it would be a disaster if we ran out of ingredients.
To keep the frying process going smoothly, I had to create stock one batch after another in the stall’s box.
By the way, the amount of meat I cut up yesterday was enough for about ten skewers from a single Lesser Dragon’s meat.
Having processed 2,000 pieces, that means, by simple calculation, we could easily make 20,000 servings.
If you ask whether we could sell that much at a stall, the usual answer would be no.
But this is a game.
With cooking skills, each skewer takes about ten seconds to fry. Considering that we can make twenty at the same time, we can operate at a speed that’s unimaginable in reality.
Moreover, this isn’t just an ordinary festival.
It’s a large-scale event happening across the entire country.
With stalls lined up from one end to the other, the scene is quite spectacular.
Just looking at the number of people passing by, it feels overwhelming as adventurers and dragonkin swarm to the stalls that have already started serving.
To describe the sight, it’s like ants flocking to honey.
Sora, feeling that we might be short on stock, was already sweating profusely.
“Hmm, frying the meat of that Lesser Dragon… now that’s quite a crazy thing to do.”
“It seems like a pretty standard dish, though. It’s strange that the people running stalls on the list only focused on frying Lesser Dragon meat.”
“Anyone who cooks in this country knows that frying Lesser Dragon meat results in ‘a foul smell that makes it inedible.’ What likely transforms that odor into umami is the superb craftsmanship of the cutting board right there.”
“What? Wait, is that a—!?”
I turned to the person who had spoken, and Shio nearly toppled over while still holding the bowl she was mixing.
The reason? Standing there was a translucent, imposing elderly dragon with his arms crossed.
“G-g-g-g-ghost Dragon King?!”
“Can ghosts really appear in broad daylight?!”
“W-w-what?!”
Sora, holding the bowl cautiously with her left hand, instinctively reached for the hilt of her ?Silver Magic Sword? at her waist with her right.
In contrast, Shio observed the ghost with a look of fascination, from head to toe, without showing any fear.
Kuro, however, was terrified and quickly hid behind Sora, peeking at the translucent dragonkin elder with teary eyes.
As the three of them reacted in their own ways, the former Dragon King raised both hands to indicate he meant no harm.
“Wait, wait, brave adventurers. I have no intention of fighting you here.”
“If that’s the case, then why did you appear here? Are you scouting for enemies?”
“No, no, that’s not it. I just realized I hadn’t thanked you.”
“Thank…?”
“Yes, for saving me from the Skeleton King’s prison.”
The former Dragon King said this and deeply bowed his head in front of us, who were watching.
“I sincerely thank you. The great adventurers who are destined to defeat the Demon Lord. Without you, I would likely still be trapped within the Skeleton King.”
“Oh, no, you don’t need to thank us…”
This is bad. I’m completely confused.
Despite being in a declared state of war, I never expected him to suddenly show up and express gratitude.
I couldn’t quite grasp this development, and Kuro and Shio behind me looked equally perplexed.
Then, lifting his face, the former Dragon King smiled slightly and said,
“Let’s have a good match, Adventurer Sora.”
“Y-yes.”
“Well, I’ll take my leave. By the way, as an apology for peeking, let me tell you about a dish we offer. It’s fried sweet potatoes coated in syrup, called Candied Sweet Potatoes.”
With that, the ghostly Dragon King vanished like a storm.
…What are Candied Sweet Potatoes?
As I pondered this while cracking eggs into a new bowl, Kuro whispered from behind,
“If I were to explain it clearly to Sora, I would say it’s like sweet potato fries.”
What, really…?
………………………
Once the preparations were mostly complete, Sora focused on the Dragon King Otter, who was holding the opening ceremony in front of the teleportation gate.
As expected, he embodied the qualities of a good king, with nearly all the citizens who supported him gathered in the square.
There were so many people that they overflowed, even lining up along the main cross street.
Everyone’s gaze was naturally directed toward Otter, standing in the center.
The Dragon King held something resembling a microphone in one hand, exuding a quiet and dignified presence as he expressed his gratitude for being able to hold this festival again, both to everyone present and to his late wife, who had died a year ago while sealing the Demon Dragon King.
It seemed he was a person with a warm and friendly personality.
Hearing the Dragon King’s words, tears flowed from the eyes of everyone present.
Even the adventurers were caught up in the atmosphere, listening intently to the Dragon King’s speech, exuding a sense of melancholy.
Amidst this, Otter raised his right hand powerfully and declared with a smile, “Let’s enjoy the present so we can greet tomorrow with joy!”
With that, he announced the start of the Dragon King Festival.
“Ooooooo—!!”
Cheers erupted all around.
The citizens, along with the adventurers, joined in, and their passionate cries became so immense that they shook the earth and seemed to reach the heavens.
Sora exchanged glances with Kuro, Shio, and the newly joined Shin and Rou.
As a signal to start the battle, they plunged the skewers coated in egg and breadcrumbs—known as ?Kushidora katsu?—into the oil.
TL Note:
https://www.japanesewiki.com/culture/Hare%20and%20Ke.html